Curcumin: Breast Cancer Treatment & Prevention

Cucumin is a
spice extracted from turmeric root. This
commonly available spice may be a key to
fighting cancer.

1. Curcumin
reduces number of lung metastases and makes the chemotherapy agent, Taxol, less
toxic.

Taxol, as is true with many chemotherapeutic agents,
provokes an inflammatory response, which
leads to drug resistance. When administered with the chemotherapy, curcumin
inhibited Taxol’s inflammatory response by blocking nuclear factor-kappa B
(NF-kappa B) which regulates inflammation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis
(cell death).

2. Curcumin shuts down the production of NF-Kappa B,
the “Smoke-Sensor”

It was determined that curcumin
suppresses tumor necrosis factor (TNF),
from activating NF-kappa B. By inhibiting TNF-induced NF-kappa B
activation, curcumin reduced the expression of genes that regulate every stage
of cancer development.

3. Curcumin inhibits cancer cell growth
rate

By inactivating
NF-kappa B, genes involved in cell proliferation, such as COX-2, cyclin D1, and
c-myc, are inhibited. This means that curcumin suppresses production of
proteins needed for uncontrolled growth and proliferation, inflammation and
inhibition of PGE-
2.

4. Curcumin restores normal control of Apoptosis (Cell Death)

Cancer may
be a condition that damages he normal control mechanism involved in normal cell
death. Curcumin helps to restore normal programmed cell death. The chemotherapy
agent Taxol induced NF-kappa B activation, which leads to cell immortality,
reducing the drug’s ability to kill cancer cells. In that drug resistance is a huge problem, curcumin
can help to make chemotherapeutic agents more effective.

Dosage
of Curcumin depends upon the strength and purity of the curcumin
preparation.

The
top of the line curcumin costs pennies more than the garbage that is
generally available at the ‘health store.’ Using curcumin for the purposes
above requires ‘solvent-free’ curcumin, and I am aware of only one
reliable source.

Currently,
I am recommending Curcumin (Vital Nutrients, Inc.) 500 mg twice
daily. Cost per month is around $24. The cheaper brands cost a bit less, but
you get a lot less.

David S Klein, MD

David S. Klein, MD, FACA, FACPM was born in Washington, DC, and was raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Maryland with degrees in Chemistry and Psychology.

Medical School was completed at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, followed by Internship in General Surgery at the University of North Carolina and Residency in Anesthesiology at the Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Dr Klein has been practicing medicine since 1983, concentrating in Pain Medicine, Minimally Invasive Medicine and Surgery, and Neuroendocrinology. Earning Board Certification in Anesthesiology, Dr. Klein was elected Fellow in the American College of Anesthesiology, and he was elected Fellow in the American College of Pain Medicine. He is currently an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, School of Medicine.

He has focused his private practice on treating patients with hormone imbalance issues, nutritional deficiency related medical problems as well as pain related issues and impairment. With a highly-complex, CLIA licensed laboratory in-house, he has been able to provide rapid-turn around analysis efficiently and cost-effectively.
Lecturing extensively nationally as well as internationally, Dr. Klein has authored many articles on topics relating to pain, injury and nutritionally modulated illness. His radio show, “Pain Free Living,” received top ratings during the 6 years it was on the air. Currently practicing in Longwood, Florida, Dr. Klein practices entirely in the office setting.